Court documents: Lisa Lesyshen confesses to killing her son

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Asher Lesyshen-Kirlan, 9, of Stagecoach, died Wednesday. Community members are asked to share photos of Asher doing the activities he loved. Photos sent to share@SteamboatToday.com will be added to this gallery.

Steamboat Springs  Lisa Marie Lesyshen confessed Thursday to killing her 9-year-old son before unsuccessfully trying to take her own life early Wednesday morning, according to documents filed in Routt County Court.

The information was contained in a court order for a sample of Lesyshen’s blood that will be used to collect DNA. The court order also states Lesyshen bought .22-caliber ammunition at a Steamboat Springs gun shop the day before the shooting at her Stagecoach home.

According to Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins, two deputies have been taking turns guarding Lesyshen at a Denver hospital. Wiggins said her breathing tube was taken out Thursday, and she is able to talk.

According to the court order, Lesyshen admitted to shooting herself and her only child, Asher Lesyshen-Kirlan. She also said she knew Asher was dead.

Wiggins said Lesyshen’s mother was with her at the hospital and that Lesyshen had asked for an attorney.

A search warrant for the Stagecoach home where the Wednesday shootings took place provided additional details about what investigators think transpired.

Lesyshen and her husband, Michael Kirlan, were in the process of separating, according to the search warrant. Routt County Court records do not show any active divorce proceedings involving the couple.

According to the warrant, Kirlan called 911 shortly before 3 a.m. and reported his son, Asher Lesyshen-Kirlan, had been shot but still was breathing. Kirlan then told 911 operators his wife was upstairs, and he could hear her.

“Lisa Lesyshen was telling him to come and kill her,” the warrant states.

Kirlan also told operators that he did not feel safe because he thought his wife still had a gun.

Oak Creek police and deputies arrived to find Asher dead just inside the main door to the house. He had been shot multiple times. Kirlan had moved Asher to the living room from Asher’s bedroom, where he had been shot, according to the warrant.

Lesyshen was found slumped beside the bed in the master bedroom on the upper level of the home at 23935 Arapahoe Road overlooking Stagecoach Reservoir.

Lesyshen, who had a single gunshot wound, was taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center. Investigators found three shell casings where she had been laying. Investigators also found a small, short-barreled revolver on the bed underneath the sheets, according to the warrant.

On Thursday, investigators from the Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation were finishing processing evidence at the home.

Wiggins said his office had not started preparing an arrest warrant for Lesyshen.

“I just want to make sure our probable cause is solid (for an arrest),” Wiggins said.

If the Sheriff’s Office takes Lesyshen into custody while she is receiving medical treatment, Wiggins confirmed the county could be obligated to pay her medical bills.

“That’s a consideration, obviously,” Wiggins said.

An autopsy on Asher was performed Wednesday afternoon. The forensic examiner’s initial cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.